Something's Happening at the Masquerade
by historiae
Summary: She had appeared from nowhere in the crowd, pushing back few people from her passage with a single nod. Her eyes were covered with a thin black mask, from which the amber glow of her irises could be clearly seen. She moved sinuously, caressing the long brown hair from time to time, playing with it, and signaling the boy to approach with her index finger.


The gardens of Red Fountain were lit up festively, despite the late winter sun that had already disappeared behind the low mountains of the horizon. Under the bare trees and on the ancient terraces some of the guests were already swarming to the great masquerade ball that would have been celebrated on the occasion of the Magic Carnival, one of the most awaited festivity for the students of the three schools; fairies, witches and specialists would have gathered that evening in the main hall of the ancient fortress, dressed in extravagant costumes and masks of all kinds. Every year, the most diverse spells managed to create the most spectacular tricks and disguises.

Five fairies of Alfea, well recognizable by their brightly colored clothes, were preparing to make their triumphal entry, to find their knights to welcome them. On the stone stairway leading to the living room, however, something disturbed the serenity of one of them.

-Cheer up, Musa. It's gonna be a great party. - Bloom turned to her friend, hugging her tightly, sparkling in her good mood.

-I'll try, girls, but I don't know if I'll stay 'til the end.-

The music fairy was in a really bad mood. She felt a little envious of the other girls who would 've had a knight, while she didn't have any. Two weeks had passed since the unpleasant episode occurred at the Rose parade, which had ended the friendship between her _boyfriend _Riven and the other specialists. Then coming to know from Stella that the boy was going to leave the team and that he'd started to hang out with the Cloudtower witches, had destroyed her, as if she had been punched in the stomach. He was undoubtedly gruff and aggressive, but she would never believe that he could get to treat her that way; when she had begged him to help her escape the witches, he had reacted in complete indifference; it was clear, she no longer meant anything for him.

-Bloom is right, you mustn't think about anything that makes you sad, tonight. You'll know a lot of nice guys. There must be someone who will catch your attention.- Stella poked, trying to make her smile again.

-Yes, and then I'll be there with you. Who needs boys? - Flora whispered in complicity; she was the only fairy in addition to Musa not to have male company.

-Thanks, girls.- Musa said, trying to recover. _No thoughts tonight. Have a good time! You can do it._

The hall was immersed in music, and dimly lit by colored strobe lights. Glittering dresses, feathers, gaudy hats and jewels with unusual shapes adorned the gentle faces of fairies; black leather gloves, monstrous costumes and elegant, enigmatic masks of showed on the witches, descended with great spirit of sacrifice from the gloomy castle of Cloudtower to join the festivities in joy.

Musa tried to avoid crossing their gaze as much as possible, mindful of their behavior of a few days before. Among the general chatter she seemed to hear sme jokes, but she didn't mind. She knew those witches after all, and if their schools were meant to be divided, there was a reason.

\- Don't worry, Musa. They can't do anything to you. They wouldn't dare, after the lesson we gave them.- Tecna said, and Musa hoped she was right. But that sneering smirk on their faces didn't want to disappear, as if they were planning for some kind of revenge.

\- Here you are, finally! We couldn't find you, with this fuss.- Bloom exclaimed, when she saw Sky, Brandon and Timmy coming, triumphant in their templar knights costumes.

\- You made it. So what do you think of the party? - Sky asked, extending his arm to his girlfriend.

-I'm stunned, you really did great things.-

-As always, after all.- Stella concluded, taking Brandon under her arm while Tecna did the same with Timmy.

\- Come, let's get something to drink.-

The three of them set off with their ladies to the buffet, followed by Musa and Flora, who had decided to rely only on their mutual company.

-Maybe we should jump into the fray and get to know someone.- Flora proposed, unconvinced. -I don't know about you, but I am embarrassed about it.- she confessed, blushing.

-Me too. Let's just enjoy the music .-

The two fairies looked around for a while, occasionally greeting some schoolmates. No boy seemed to be vaguely interested in them. Even the witches were too busy confabulating to pay attention to them.

Flora suddenly got nervous, and striking her friend with an elbow, she pointed the bottom of the room without making herself noticed. Icy and Stormy were exchanging a few words with no emotion, sipping their drinks. - Look who's there.-

They certainly were who she thought them to be; she had recognized them because of the purple curls and the platinum white ponytail, and they wore simple evening dresses.

\- Do you think they have in mind to ruin the party? - Musa asked.

-I don't think so. They didn't even make a commitment to disguise themselves. They wouldn't have done it if they wanted to go unnoticed. They probably just want to enjoy the party ... for once.- the flower fairy confirmed. Otherwise she had noticed that the third Trix was not with them. Was they plotting something?

Bloom and the others joined them. - Why those faces? - the redhead asked.

-We saw the Trix.- Musa answered.

Bloom didn't seem worried, in fact, she laughed. - Don't worry, all the witches have been invited to the party. No wonder they are there too.-

\- It surprises me that they have mixed with normal people and that they have not gone off to make some evil plan ...- Tecna said. -Will these witches ever end up surprising us?-

\- Yeah, and did you notice that one of them is missing? -

-Girls, let's relax. It's a party for us. We will still have time to foil their evil plans. Tonight they are harmless.-

-Maybe, but I'm not sure.-

-Come on, let's go open the dances! - Bloom exclaimed, before dragging Sky to the dance floor.

The music now filled the room with its regular rhythm, enveloping it in an almost surreal atmosphere, while the boys and girls had already begun to dance, some unleashed and some hinted only a few shy steps. The euphoria of their friends soon involved Musa and Flora, who didn't dare entering the fray because of their shyness.

Other late guests were coming; among them, a small group of boys looked around for their dancing partners. Musa cast his eyes in that direction in time to see Riven, entering the hall with a bored and circumspect expression, dressed in his elegant school uniform, but without a costume. She could see at a mile that he wanted to be somewhere else, and that he had been forced by the other specialists (if not by the principal himself) to attend the party at least to see his efforts and those of the other organizing students accomplished.

-That's Riven- Sky said, as much surprised to see him as Musa. - I didn't think he would show up. Not after our last argument.-

\- I don't want him to see me. I want to leave...- Musa moaned.

-Don't talk nonsense!- Stella cried. - It could be your big chance instead. You haven't talk to each other since the last time. It is the right time to clarify your situation.-

-I don't think it's a good idea, Stella. He won't even want to listen to me.-

\- Trust me. You have nothing to lose.-

\- As it is a bizarre proposal, it could work. Should we trust you? - Tecna asked.

-I say yes.- Flora said.

-Come on, Musa, make it or break it.- Stella said, before giving her a slight push in the direction of the entrance from which Riven got in.

Musa took a deep breath and went to Riven, who was heading towards the center of the ballroom. The music was almost deafening, and the colored lights blurred the view. The fairy felt her heart beating wildly as she made her way through the crowd of guests. Once she had greeted Riven, assuming he would give her a glance, she would not know how to continue the conversation.

She didn't have time to complete the thought when she saw two figures placed in front of her, to prevent her from passing. - Hi, Musa.- she recognized Icy's voice - Are you having fun? -

Musa gasped. -What do you want?- she asked. She thought of going back, but the crowd was blocking her.

-Did you want to talk to Riven?- The ice witch chuckled.

-None of your business. Let me pass.-

-Sorry, I can't do that. You know, unfortunately Riven is very busy tonight.-

Musa was surprised as Stormy giggled nearby.

Riven, unaware of everything, was getting closer, without noticing any of the three.

The music continued, incessantly, with an almost hypnotic rhythm, immersing the crowd in a bubble of indefinable magic. The boys and girls were involved in dancing as if in a trance.

Riven's attention was suddenly captured by a female figure dancing alone, with slow movements, looking in his direction. She had appeared from nowhere in the crowd, pushing back few people from her passage with a single nod. Her eyes were covered with a thin black mask, from which the amber glow of her irises could be clearly seen. She moved sinuously, caressing the long brown hair from time to time, playing with it, and signaling the boy to approach with her index finger.

Musa could clearly see Riven's eyes blurring as the girl's irises cast a purple glow, which no one else noticed. That strange hypnotic spell was certainly by the Trix, and only then the absence of Darcy found an explanation. That witch had calculated everything; she knew of Riven's arrival, and now she was hypnotizing him, controlling him like a puppet. A few other boys, who unfortunately stood nearby, had risked falling victim of her, unconsciously drawing closer, but she had promptly pushed them away. The goal was Riven, and Riven only. Icy and Stormy looked at the scene standing at a side, satisfied of their accomplished plan and ready to prevent any Musa's movement in case she interfered.

Riven had approached like an automaton to that temptress, who had now grabbed him by the collar of his uniform, and now their faces were dangerously close. The witch's blood-red lips curved into a malignant smile, filled with satisfaction.

Musa did not believe her eyes. Her friends were too far to notice what was happening, and she decided she had to do something to get the boy out of that witch.

He took aim and threw him an antidote in form of magical energy, but Stormy caught it on the fly, suppressing it.

-What do you think you're doing, Musa?- she asked, arousing anger in the fairy. - Would you dare to hit someone here, in the middle of a party? -

\- Get out of the way, you witches! -

Musa's voice rang in the room, but no one seemed to hear it. Only Bloom managed to perceive the magical energy of her friend's spell with no little effort and called the others.

-What a strange feeling...- Stella said, slapping herself to make sure she was awake.

-I thought I fell asleep for a while.- Tecna confessed, stunned.

-Let's reach Musa, something's happening.- said Bloom quickly, before throwing herself into the crowd in search of the fairy.

Musa lowered her face, resigned, watching Riven falling victim of her mortal enemy without being able to do anything to stop her.

-There's nothing more you can do, my dear.- Icy said.

-I hope you understood how things go, once and for all.- Stormy said. And with a sneer they turned their backs on them and they both left, letting the party resume as it had begun. There was no sign of Riven, nor of the masked girl. They were gone.

-Musa, what's going on? - Bloom asked, reaching for her friend to find her in tears.

-I want to go back to Alfea.-

-I'm coming with you.- Flora said.

Musa left the party, with te only will to go to bed and forget what she'd seen. Sooner or later she would have to accept reality: Riven was no longer hers. But inside she refused the idea of giving up that way.

But yet, the blurred eyes of Riven and the devilish smile of that witch, which reflected the perverse joy of that little victory won by deception, had remained carved in her memory, with no purpose to vanish away.


End file.
